Nats game blog: Max Scherzer seeks first win at Nats Park vs. Mets

The Nationals take on the Mets in Game 1 of a three-game set on a beautiful Labor Day afternoon affair in D.C. Mets manager Terry Collins called it the "first round of the playoffs."

The Nationals are also looking for a different result than the last time the clubs met in New York. The Mets swept that three-game set, holding the Nationals to five total runs.

Nationals manager Matt Williams was asked if he believes the club is in a better mood since those losses to the Mets or their rough West Coast trip to Los Angeles and San Francisco in the middle of August.

"I don't know if the mood changes, not with this group," Williams said. "Everyday is an opportunity. Regardless of whether we won yesterday or lost yesterday, we have a game today. We approach it that way.

"I think our guys have gotten to the point offensively where they feel good. That's a plus.

"We still have to execute. Still have to get the base hit, still have to move up on balls in the dirt, take advantage of that backside runner, all of those things, if we're going to have a chance to win this."

The Nationals go with their ace, right-hander Max Scherzer. The Mets counter with left-hander Jon Niese.

Scherzer is 11-11 with a 2.89 ERA and is 2-2 with a 1.89 ERA against the Mets in six career appearances (five starts). He lost the only start against the Mets this season that he had at Nats Park, a 3-1 setback on opening day April 6. He went 7 2/3 innings and allowed only three unearned runs.

Niese has allowed 18 earned runs in his last 16 1/3 innings over three starts and has not defeated the Nationals since August 2012, a 2-0 shutout at Nats Park. He is 3-4 with a 3.19 ERA in 11 starts in his career versus the Nationals.

The Mets lead the Nationals by four games in the NL East.